Mass Effect 3 is a gem - a bright spot on an otherwise bleak canvas - with few flaws that stop it from being incredible.
The first Mass Effect game looked very good for an original release of 2007. It had some visual oddities and glitches, but it was a generally well-designed & attractive game, plus there was a sort of "wow" effect that it had on you when you played it for the first time. The sequel improved upon this even more; adding to Mass Effect's space opera/Star Wars-like art style with scenes and environments resembling other science-fiction films - such as darker, cyberpunk motion pictures like "Blade Runner". With Mass Effect 3, BioWare mixes both of the previous games' artistic styles and packs even more variety into the environments of the franchise. The graphics have also been enhanced from a technical standpoint.
Most of the locations we have seen in BioWare's previous games were, frankly, quite boring. Of course, they looked spectacular, but they were mostly static (with some exceptions every now and then). This has been almost completely changed for the third chapter of this Canadian sci-fi trilogy. As you land on different planets invaded by the gargantuan Reapers, you will see the enormous abominations annihilating landscapes and allied ground forces in the distance, with spacecraft trying to outmanoeuvre their countless enemies. Large explosions, huge battles and soldiers fighting horrific hostiles all around you immerse you further into the game to a much greater extent than the previous titles in the series ever did. In addition: character models, surroundings, weapons, armour and pretty much everything else looks better. Dynamic lighting has also been boosted.
Unfortunately, the old Unreal Engine 3 (that this game is running on) is really starting to show its age. You will be able to spot plenty of blurry and low-resolution textures in most areas. Most of these are not too much of a problem and don't stand out as much, but a few are shockingly horrendous. Fortunately, the environments you get to see in Mass Effect 3 are so beautiful, varied and dynamic that these imperfections will have little or no significant effect on your experience as a whole. Then there are also some awkward character body and facial animations every now and then, but overall - all NPCs still look great.
However, there are more important things in games than graphics… such as the very thing that all games revolve around - which is gameplay; or in other words, how games are played. Mass Effect has always been searching for an identity since its first chapter. Player choices, long dialogues, equipment stats, levelling systems, customization, exploration, and crafting your own story are all features of a role-playing game that have been present in the ME games since the very beginning. On the other hand, shooting enemies from a third-person perspective is clearly something taken from more action-oriented titles. With the third instalment of the series, BioWare has finally given Mass Effect its own identity.
The shooting mechanics - and combat gameplay in general - have been vastly refined. As each projectile is blasted from your firearm (be it a small, yet hefty pistol or a big, bad rocket-launcher) and reaches your enemy, you can feel it penetrating their tough armour and devastating the vulnerable flesh underneath; or just completely blowing up the opponent, depending on what type of weapon you are currently using. In addition to this, the player is now given much more freedom to travel fast & effectively around each battlefield. The introduction of ladders and the enhancement of the player character's mobility (being able to sprint for unlimited amounts of time, performing combat rolls etc.) has greatly enriched the gameplay, by really speeding up the pace of the action and making you feel much more involved in every battle.
Among other things, the cover system has been upgraded. Whilst it certainly isn't perfect, it is much better than in the two previous games of the trilogy and can be compared to that of third-person shooters as a much more formidable competitor. Furthermore, even such small changes like being able to vault over obstacles without having to take cover behind them first does loads to make combat more enjoyable - as well as speeding up the action. In order to make fights more challenging, enemy AI has also been modified. Moreover, all of this action is still fuelled by deeper RPG elements like squad commands, powers, abilities, stats and levels - but the shooting can now stand on its own regardless.
In Mass Effect, we had to manage an inventory with various different types of armour & weapons. In Mass Effect 2, we were given fewer weapons that were much more unique & distinct from each other - with only one base suit of armour (not counting DLC) that could be customized with different pieces, materials, colours and patterns. It may be disappointing to some fans that BioWare has not tried to return and improve the original inventory system, but stuck with the sequel's ways of handling equipment. Then again, it may also be better for most; as there are many more pieces of armour to choose from this time around (and all of the other armour sets from Mass Effect 2 DLC are included in the game from the get-go at no additional cost), more weapons are available whilst each retains its unique appearance and stats, plus weapon upgrades are back!
Despite of all these new additions and advancements, Mass Effect 3 still has the same base gameplay design as the series always had. Play as one main character, shoot enemies from a third person perspective, pick two squad members from your crew to join you on a mission, fight and complete objectives to progress further through the level, pause the game (or use hotkeys) to select various powers, mix & match the abilities of your character and her/his companions to create deadly combos, command your teammates to carry out specific actions during combat, use passive powers (such as different types of ammunition) to deal more damage etc.
So if you liked the way you played the previous games, you will be glad to know of all these improvements that make the experience so much more amazing. With that said; there's just about enough new stuff that even if you didn't like the gameplay of the previous games, you should enjoy this one.
In other words; to sum up the last four paragraphs of this review: Mass Effect 3 can now be honestly called an Action RPG. Its combat gameplay has been immensely augmented to a much higher standard of quality, but all of the role-playing game elements that it is based on are still present and have also been improved. Hacking mini-games are gone, you no longer have to scan planets for minerals but you can still search for signals and there are some spectacular scripted events now and again (during missions). But the deep plot and characters are still here. Speaking of which - I think it's about time we discussed the story.
Mass Effect 3 begins after the events of the previous games; it is a direct sequel to Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard, the player's character and protagonist of the trilogy, has been relieved of duty and placed under house arrest for the consequences of her/his actions in the Mass Effect 2 DLC pack "Arrival" - where she/he was forced to delay the arrival of the Reapers, by destroying a mass relay in batarian-controlled space - which resulted in a colossal explosion that caused the deaths of 300,000 batarians. The Reapers are a highly advanced and mysterious race of synthetic/organic starships, which enter the Milky Way from intergalactic space every 50,000 years in order to purge the galaxy of all advanced sentient life.
Shepard has already taken down two Reapers in the previous games, killed countless of their indoctrinated agents and stopped many of their operations in the previous games. Mass Effect 3 begins in Vancouver, where the Commander is detained and a Reaper invasion of Earth begins. Knowing that human military forces will only delay the inevitable fall of Earth and extinction of the human race, Shepard escapes the planet and begins her/his mission to unite the galaxy. Her/his quest for interstellar union and co-operation between the different species of the Milky Way is the last hope for taking back our home, and defeating the Reapers to break the cycle. Will he succeed?
Well, all that depends on you - the player - and you alone. The plot may seem quite simple at first, but really, uniting a whole galaxy is no easy feat. Shepard has to solve many political problems & conflicts between the different races of the Mass Effect universe before any of them agrees to dedicate their own services towards her/his efforts. This means that you get numerous stories within one main plot. Your main goal throughout the whole game is to destroy the Reapers. Though, in order to do that, you first have to gain a foothold on Earth. For that to happen, you must first defeat many of the Reaper forces. To even have a chance of success in those battles, you must have enough military and scientific power at your back from other species. Before you receive their support, you must first do something for them - solve a problem that may have been bothering for hundreds of years and is now stopping them from helping you (I won't give examples so as to not give any spoilers).
Not all of this is achieved through gunning, bashing, running, shooting, killing, gunning, flying, drinking, dancing, gunning, rolling and gunning. Many of these "lesser" conflicts (lesser when compared to the Reaper threat, of course) can end in unbelievably different ways for different players after hours of on-foot combat, depending almost completely on some choices and tough decisions that they have made throughout the game or even the two previous games.
Speaking of which, conversations have been made even better than they were in the previous parts of the trilogy. You can still make choices in most conversations that occur in the game, but each dialogue feels much more natural when compared to the discussions we hear in the preceding games because Shepard will say some things by herself/himself. Technically, this means that there's slightly less choice given to the player than there was before. However, the difference is minimal and it results in Shepard being a much more believable person.
Additionally, Mass Effect 3 is also the most emotional game of the trilogy. BioWare has stated multiple times that this is the last chapter in Shepard's story. It is also the grand finale, the ultimate battle for the survival of sentient life and - most importantly to the player - the last they will see of many of the Commander's loyal acquaintances. Yes, many will die. Mass Effect 3 is not a happy game, and thus it is also much more emotionally-involving. Fans who have played both ME and ME2 will be sad to see many of their favourite characters leave once and for all. This game brought some of them to tears. Is that really so surprising? The characters of this series and their personalities have been fleshed out to such an extent, that it would be hard not to fall in love with this universe and its characters after almost 5 years of knowing them, interacting with them, being part of their lives.
This should also remind you of another important feature that Mass Effect 3 has - being able to import your save game file from Mass Effect 2 into this game. This feature carries over all of the important, and less important, decisions that you have made in the two previous games and has an immense impact on what you experience in ME3. People may talk to you differently, some may not even know you… some characters might not show up in the game at all, because they did not survive your missions in the previous episodes. There are so many possibilities that it is astounding. Obviously, it is not just the characters & relationships that are affected by the choices you have made in the previous games. Vital points related to the main plot may differ greatly as well.
This is also one of the game's main flaws… but is it really a flaw? If you have not played Mass Effect before (and therefore do not have a save file to import) but choose to play Mass Effect 3 anyway, then your experience will be much less unique, personal and effective. It'll still be extraordinary, but you'll be missing out on so much without even knowing it. The extensive "lore" of the ME universe can be easy to learn for newcomers by reading the detailed "Codex" section of the journal - an option in the menu, but it does not equate to experiencing it yourself by playing the previous games. Besides, as it has been mentioned earlier - it's the customized story and characters created through importing a save file which are the most important features that new fans will not be able to experience, unless they go back and play Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.
Both previous parts of the trilogy have had stellar soundtracks. From epic pieces of music suitable for magnificent space battles, and darker melodies of a dystopian setting, to some crazy futuristic tunes and Mordin's amazing singing. Everything in the audio compartment has been quite outstanding (or even better), including the voice acting. Mass Effect 3 is no exception to this "BioWarian" tradition and the sounds remain just as fantastic.
This really doesn't come as a surprise. The soundtrack is composed by Clint Mansell, Christopher Lennertz, Cris Velasco, Sam Hulick and Sasha Dikicyan. Some of these composers may be familiar to you; some have worked on the soundtracks of the previous games in the series. However, most of them are new to Mass Effect - so it is good that they managed to keep the appropriate atmosphere already present earlier in the trilogy, but also gave ME3 its own feel.
There are 40,000 lines of dialogue in the game and pretty much all of them are delivered with expertise and talent. Jennifer Hale, the woman behind the voice of Shepard's female version, delivers even more stunning performances in this video game - probably being one of the very best actors included in the project. Mark Meer (the man behind the voice of Shepard's male version) has been criticized for speaking with not enough emotion for most lines. Well, if you are one of the people with such criticisms, then you can be reassured to know that Mark Meer finally delivers a performance almost as amazing as Hale in Mass Effect 3. Other well-known actors who lend their voice for NPCs and do a similarly impressive job are Lance Henriksen, Yvonne Strahovski, Martin Sheen, Tricia Helfer and many more.
One feature of this game that is completely new to the Mass Effect series is multiplayer. It is a cooperative, online game type that allows players to work together in order to complete objectives. It works very similarly to pretty much any other "horde mode" out there. You - with up to three other players - have to survive around 10-11 waves of incoming enemies, then proceed to the landing area for extraction. To keep things fresh, there are specific objectives (during some waves) that must be completed within a time limit. If they are not finished, then the mission is lost. If they are accomplished, then everyone on the team gets credits. Bonuses are given for full extraction of everyone on the team, fast completion of objectives etc.
Experience points are gained by killing enemies and getting achievements for each multiplayer match. Once enough XP is gained your character levels up (in a similar manner as Shepard does in singleplayer). Each new level brings points that can be spent on new abilities and powers for your character. There are many classes to play as, which means that all players can have several characters at a time. Special reward packs can be purchased using the in-game credits earned earlier. These packages contain random items (medi-gel, firearms and one-shot heavy weapons), with small chances of containing new characters of alien races to play as.
One completely free DLC pack for the multiplayer has already been released and it added plenty of new content (namely whole new classes and species to play as, two awesome maps and some weapons from the SP campaign that were previously unavailable in online play). This shows that BioWare is willing to support its product post-release. Let's hope that they will continue to support both the multiplayer and singleplayer parts of the game with more (preferably free) downloadable content in the following months. Let's also hope that none of this additional content will actually be present on the disc and awaiting an "unlock", like the "From Ashes" DLC pack; which was released on day one and was basically a code (that you had to pay for) in order to expose a new mission and companion. Do yourself and every other gamer a favour… don't support these shocking business practices, by not getting the paid DLC.
Overall, the multiplayer of Mass Effect 3 is very unoriginal and quite typical… but because the maps are so well-made and the game is so addictive, it would be an understatement to call it "just good". The various classes and species add a ton of variation to the gameplay. Any fan of ME will utterly love charging into enemies as a krogan, sneaking around as a salarian, deploying drones as a quarian and so on. On the other hand, if you're not fascinated by such ideas, then there's not much for you in Mass Effect 3's online compartment unless you're a big fan of "horde modes".
I think it's about time we come to a conclusion regarding this game and its quality; but first - let's summarize.
GAMEPLAY - 9/10
BioWare has finally fully executed Mass Effect as a third person action game (expanding/improving upon almost everything we have seen in their previous games), without forgetting about its RPG roots.
STABILITY - 8/10
There still are some bugs and glitches that must be ironed out, Windows 7 users have had trouble launching EA's Origin software that is required to play the game and I've only encountered two crashes spanning over two playthroughs… fixes are needed for future patches and there's more work to be done, but stability is impressive for a game of this scope.
STORY - 9/10
Yes, the ending really isn't that good - it doesn't give the player anywhere near enough closure or choice and it doesn't make much sense either… but should we really judge such a brilliant story based on the last fifteen minutes, instead of the tens of hours of vastly superior quality that we experienced in the same game earlier?
GRAPHICS - 9/10
A sublime art direction and atmospheric style, fulfilled using aging (yet still almost absolutely wonderful) graphics… there are only a few minor inconsistencies that barely affect the experience as a whole.
SOUND - 10/10
Talented voice actors bring characters to life, believable sound effects further immerse the player and an ear-gasmic soundtrack (made up of beautiful pieces of music) creates an authentic atmosphere with an epic feeling.
LONGEVITY - 10/10
The singleplayer has greatly varying outcomes of different story events (from both of the previous games and the new plot elements of this one) - to such an extent, that you will want to replay it more than once (if you want to do all missions, your first playthrough could last anywhere from 30 to 40 hours). The multiplayer option has plenty hours of fun to offer, even though it is unoriginal. In other words: Mass Effect 3 has lots of content to keep you coming back for more.
When all is said and done, it should be noted that EA's and BioWare's recent marketing methods (DLC with action figures, day-one DLC that's actually on the disc but has to be unlocked by paying, etc.) is quite shocking and disgusting… but does it have a significant impact on the quality of Mass Effect 3? Not really. Though, at times, it does feel like there's something missing - that perhaps BioWare were rushed and didn't have enough time or resources to complete some parts of the game in the exact way that they had initially intended.
However, on the whole, Mass Effect 3 is one of BioWare's best modern games. The amount of work that must have gone into creating such a fantastic product is astounding. This game is one of the best RPGs I've played in recent years. It can be compared to its predecessor, "Mass Effect 2". It can even be compared to "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" and "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" (in terms of excellence). However, what stops the game from beating any of the three mentioned games is actually development time. There is plenty of awesome content in this game, but it feels like there should have been more. BioWare overestimated their abilities and tried to release a better game than ME2 in just two years… they came close, but did not succeed. Nevertheless, Mass Effect 3 is a gem - a bright spot on an otherwise bleak canvas - with few flaws that stop it from being incredible.
August 11th 2012 UPDATE:
The free "Extended Cut" DLC (which expands the game's original ending) has finally arrived across all platforms. What should you know about this? Well, those who didn't like the original endings won't like the new ones either, as they are only extensions of the previous content and not replacements (with the exception of one completely new option). However, this is still much better than what was there before. It's not a massive change, but it's enough to leave the player with a slightly better aftertaste once she or he has finished the game.